Report into treatment of women and girls in Greater Manchester police custody could be published this year

An inquiry into how women and girls in custody have been treated by Greater Manchester Police officers could be published in the spring.

The probe, led by Dame Vera Baird KC, was launched last summer following a Sky News report into the experiences of three women, with a series of allegations being made. The Baird Review was supposed to be completed last autumn, but more complainants came forward, delaying publication.

On Friday (January 26), it was announced that the Baird Review has now completed all of its investigations and the report was being finalised, deputy mayor Kate Green said. Although an exact publication date has not been revealed, the ‘aim’ is to release it ‘by the end of this mayoral term’, Ms Green added.

The deputy mayor made the announcement at a meeting of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) in Stockport. It effectively means that officials are hoping to publish the report by the start of May, which is when Andy Burnham’s second term as Greater Manchester mayor is up.

“Dame Vera has now completed her investigations and the process of producing the final report has begun,” Ms Green, deputy mayor for crime and policing, said. 

“This process has a number of stages including legal and due diligence checks, and sharing with the complainants that she has met the findings of the investigation that are relevant to them. It’s critical that they are made aware of what’s in the report and that this process is handled sensitively and considerately.  While it’s not possible to put a precise timeframe on this process, we aim to have it published by the end of this mayoral term.”

At a previous GMCA meeting, Ms Green confirmed Dame Vera had spoken to the three women featured in the Sky News report, plus 12 others, and considered other anonymous reports. One of GMP’s top officers has told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the force has supported the investigation.

Deputy Chief Constable Terry Woods said: “We are fully committed to supporting the Independent Office for Police Conduct’s investigation and Dame Vera Baird’s review and have supplied all requested and available information. It is important to GMP that these are detailed and robust in order to reassure the communities we serve that transparent and objective investigations of the issues have been conducted, and that those the force comes into contact with are treated with respect.”